Fish dressing apparatus



Dec; 30,1947.

K. KUR ZBIN FISH DRESS ING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filled Aug. 7;1945 INVENTOR Karl Kurzb/n YMxfi Hls ATTO RNEY Dec 30, 1947. K. KURZBINFISH nmassme APPARATUS Filed Aug. '7, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORKarl Kurzbm BYMJ 0 HIS 'ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1947.

K. KURZBlN FISH DRESSING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 7, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Dec. 30, 1947. K. KURZBIN FISH DRESSING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 7, 19435vSheets'-Shee t 4 iNVENTOR 1 Karl Kurzbin HIS ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1947..u z m 2,433,460

FISH DRESSING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 7, 1945 v 5 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTORKarl Kurzb/n GMJ- H15 ATTORNEY view of the machine.

Patented Dec. 30. 1947 UNITED STATE FISH DRESSING Karl Kurzbin,Berkeley, Calif. Application August '7, 1913, Serial No. 497;??37

9 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for preparing fish for canning; and thegeneral object of the'invention is to provide an automatic machine intowhich fish are fed and which removes heads and tails, eviscerates thebodies and thoroughly cleans them, and then passes them along in per'fect condition to be placed in a can for process- More specific objectsinclude the provision of improved means for applying a vacuum to thefish to withdraw the entrails, and 'for the disposal of the waste andcontrol of the vacuum.

Another and important object of the invention is the provision of meansfor applying a hot fluid under pressure to the cavity afterevisceration,-

in sucha manner as toloosen and carry out the lining of the cavitytogether with any loose particles of remaining waste;

Other objects of the invention together with the foregoing will be madeclear in the following description of my invention and the preferredembodiment of means for practicing the same, which is illustrated in thedrawings acoompanying' and forming part of this specification. I do notlimit myself to the showing made bythe description and drawings, as Imay adopt variations of the preferred formwithin the scope of theappended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1-is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Thefish are introduced at'the' right hand end; and move through the machinefrom right to left. Figure 2 is a plan In bothFig'ures 1 and 2 parts areomitted or broken away the betterto disclose the structure.

Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 '7 and 8 are all elevations partly in section; ofoperating mechanism. Figure 3 isan elevation showingpart ofthe'mechanism for operating the clamping. means which hold the fishduring. the evisceratingoperation. The plane of section is indicated bythe'line 3--3 at the left of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a Side View of suchmechanism, the plane of section being indicated by the line 4- 4up'perleftof Figure 2. Figure'fi is a side View of-the'fluld jetnozzles-and mechanism for operating them, the plane'of section beingindicated'by the line 5-5 atthe left of Flgure'Z. Figure 6is'an'elevation of the same nozzles andmecharhsm, the direction of theview being shown by the arrow 6 above Figure 2 at the left. Figure 7 isan elevationshowing the remainder of the fish clamping means; and alsothe eviscerating mechanism an'd Figure 8 is" an end elevation of thesame.- The line l- 'land 5511s another ceriveyer 2t; compris- 2 thearrow 3 at the top hf Figure 2 respectively indicate thepianeor sectionandth'e direction of view. In all orthese new parts have been omitted tosimplify the fi ures. and show underlying p'arts' more clearly.

Figure 9 is ad'eta'il inelevation partly insection, showing theconstruction or the pressure root on the fish clamp. Figure 10 is asectional view through the end: of the jet pipes. The sectibia is'takenl n a plane lyingi-n the longitudinal axis of the pipe;

In terms or broad inclusion, my fish dressing apparatus comprises apairof spaced conveyors each for carrying a succession of fish to and past asuccession of operating stations in a stepby step progression; Means areprovided for severing the'head and" tail at the first operating station;then at the secondstation means are provided for eviscerating the-fishby application of a vacuum; and finally the fish is subjected atthe cleaning station to jets of low pressure fluid to loosen thebla'ck'lini'ng of the visceral cavity and: carry it and any adheringwaste out of the fish, leaving the body cavity white and clean I and thefish inperfect condition for the'receptacle in which it will be-sealedand cooked. At the eviscer atin'g station, means are also provided fordischarging'the waste from'the'suction heads without breakingthe'vacuum; and other means are arranged to operate only thosesuctionheads opposite which a' fish is positioned.

In greater' detailarid referring to the drawings my apparatus"comprises'a long frame in which the mechanismis mounted, and havinglongitud-inal rhe-mbels l2. cro'ss members [3 and verticalsupportingmembe'rsor legs l4. These members are conveniently made ofangle iron welded or bolted together and brackets and extensions arefixed to the'various frameinemhers as needed to carry bearings and otherparts.

Extending longitudinally ofthe frame oneach side thereof, andspaced-apart a convenient-distance, in the-instant case, about two feet,is a conveyorgenerally desigha'ted' by the reference character" it.Figure and comprising pocket blticks' 11, mounted en chains 18 supportedon rails It and running over sprockets fixed on shaftszl'and'zdat'theends ofthe-irame'. The shaft elis journaledin-fixedbearings 22, but the shaft-Ellis journal'ed in adjustable blacks 23 sothatthe tension or the' c onveyo'r chains may be adjusted.Onthe'outside'of each of the conveyors l6 and extending. parallel viithit for a short distance of machines, supplyin all.

ing pocket blocks 21 mounted on chains running over sprockets fixed onthe adjustable shaft 20 and shaft 28 journaled in fixed bearings 29,Figure 1. The two conveyors on each side of the machine are so arrangedthat the pocket blocks H and 21 are in alignment throughout the lengthof the upper reach of the shorter conveyor, so that over this upperreach each two aligned pockets function as one receptacle for holding afish, the head lying in the pocket of block 27.

Since it is desirable to put a direct pull on the upper reach of aconveyor such as these, the

shaft 28 is rotated by a suitable chain 30 running over sprockets onshafts 28 and 2|, the latter being the drive shaft for the conveyors l6.

Shaft 2! is driven from shaft 3| and given a step-by-step motion by aGeneva gear '32 interposed between the shafts; and shaft 3| is driven bygears 33 connecting it to shaft 34, which in turn is driven throughchain 36 from shaft 31. This shaft is connected by any suitable meanssuch as the belt 38 to a source of power.

Extending through the machine between the conveyors I6 is a web or beltconveyor 4! of any suitable construction and mounting, and upon whichfish are conveyed to the machine. Workers standing on each side of themachine near the right end as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, take fish fromthis feed belt and fill the pockets of the conveyors I 626, placing theheads in the pocket blocks 21, The feed belt is preferably a wire meshfabric with its margins running in the angles 42; and if several of mymachines are in line, a single feed belt travels through the line Ifthere is but one machine, the feed belt may terminate at any convenientpoint beyond the station where the fish are loaded by hand into thepocket blocks. Below the discharge end of the conveyor 4! is a saltwater fiume, not shown, into which fish remaining on the belt fall as itturns into the lower reach. The flume loader lifts them along withothers to the feed belt. These devices are well understood and need notbe described in detail.

The conveyors I6 and 26 are spaced a short distance apart as shown inFigure 2, and the pocket blocks I! are each formed with a series ofaligned transverse grooves 43.extending past the bottom of the pocket.This arrangement allows each set of aligned but spaced pocket blocks tocarry the contained fish below the two rotary knives 44 and 45, mountedon the shaft 46 driven by suitable gears 41 from the shaft 3?. Knife 44,

which may be adjusted to work in any of the slots 43 according to the,size of the fish in the severs the tails, while knife 45 severs thevhead. It will be noted that conveyor 26 ends just beyond the knife 45,so that the heads are dropped from the machine at this point as thepocket blocks in which they lie turn downwardly.

, The tails which are small and thin remain in on each side arepresented at a time at each operating station. It is, of course obviousthat by a change in timing and the multiplication of parts any number ofpockets may be. included in a single step.

Shortly after leaving the knives, the fish in two adjacent pocket blocksare brought to rest at the eviscerating station in alignment with thesuction head 49, Figure 7, comprising a block having suction ports 50spaced so as to be in line with the visceral cavities of the two fish onthe conveyor. The block is carried by the fiange 5| on the housing 52mounted on frame members. The arrangement of parts is such that thesevered faces of the fish bodies are actually in con tact with the faceof the suction head. As soon as the fish are in position, mechanism isautomatically operated to clamp the fish bodies in the pockets andconnect the suction ports with a vacuumized chamber so that the visceralcontents are literally jerked out during the brief pause of theconveyor.

As best shown in Figures 3, 4 and 9, the clamping means includes a plateor shoe 53, having a concave or arcuate lower face, and pivotallymounted on the end of the arm 54. A fiat spring 55 engaging under thefiat end of the arm tends to retain the shoe in approximately operativeposition while permitting it' to adjust itself to the fish body as itseats on it. The arm 54 extends from a sleeve 56 pivotally mounted onthe shaft 51, journaled on and extending longitudinally along the upperportion of the main frame. Since the fish must be held during each ofthe eviscerating and cleaning operations, a clamp arm 54 and relatedparts are arranged on each side of the machine at each of the operatingpoints. On each side of the machine two fish are evisceratedat the sametime; and each of these two are subjected to the fluid cleaning jetstwice, so that on each side, there is a shaft 5'1, six sleeves 56, andsix units of clamping means.

Each sleeve is shaped with a recess between its ends, in which lies anarm 58 adjustably threaded into the shaft 51. A tie rod 59 adjustablyfixed in the fiat head of the arm 58 and slidable to the limit set byits head 60 in the slotted end of the lug Bl projecting from the arm 54,provides means for positively lifting the clamp arm 54 and attached shoewhen the shaft 51 swings the arm 58 counterclockwise. A compressionspring 63 about the tie rod between the arm and the lug insures only a,resilient pressure of the foot on the fish body when the shaft 51 swingsthe arm 58 clockwise.

Means are provided for oscillating the shaft 51 to lower the clamp shoesinto the pocket blocks. Journaled on the shaft 51, Figures 3 and 4, is asleeve 64 having an arm 65 at one end and a pinion 66 at the other. Thepinion is in mesh with a vertically disposed rack 61 which isreciprocated through a planned movement by the cam rider 68 actuated bythe cam 69 fixed on the shaft 3|. The arm 65 is connected by link H tothe adjustable length arm of the rocker I3, Journaled on theshaft l4,fixed longitudinally and centrally along the upper portion of themachine, The rocker is also provided with oppositely extending arms 16and H, the former connected by link 18 with an arm 19, carried by acollar 8!, tight on the shaft 51. The link 82 connects the other rockerarm 1! to similar mechanism on the opposite side of the machine. Fromthe above it will be seen that operation of the cam mechanism oscillatesthe shafts 51 to lower and raise the clam shoes; and of course thismovement is carefully planned to occur in time with the step-by-stepprogression of the fish holding pocket blocks.

If a fish is present in the pocket block aligned with a given suctionport, the port opens and the visceral contents of the fish are suckedout. If a fish is not present, the port remains closed.

The suction head is formed with two ports each of which is controlled byan independently operated valve 83 journaled in the block forming thehead, and having a shank 84 journaled in the bracket 86 which is carriedby the blocks. The valve is resiliently held in its seat with the flangeBl pressed against the end of the block by the spring 88 surrounding theshank and interposed between the bracket and a pinion 8d fixed on theshank next tov the flange. with gear segment 9! pivoted on the bracket86, andis connected by link 92 to the rocker 9.3, the upper arm of whichis provided with a pin or adapted to be engaged by the latch 95, pivotedon the bar 95. The bar is slidably supported at its outer end on thebracket 91, and at its inner end is pivoted to the rocker arm 98, fixedon. the shaft 14 so that when the shaft 74 oscillates, the bar movesback and forth. Oscillation of shaft 14 is secured by a link so,connecting a fixed arm on th shaft to an arm rocked by a pinion Hillwhich in turn is oscillated by a rack and cam deriving motion from shaft3|, in the same manner as already explained in connection with the cam69, Figure 4. If the latch 95 is up as shown in Figure .7, thereciprocation of the bar is without effect, but if the latch engages thepin 91!, then the rocker 93 and connected segment Q! is actuated to turnthe valve through 90 to open position, in which the opening iii! in thevalve body is aligned with the port 56 and the passage 1B2, opening intothe suction chamber H33, within the housing 52. This chamber isconnected by a conduit N14 with a vacuum pump (not shown) and duringoperation of the machine the degree of vacuum is of the order of 25" ofmercury, which is sufiicient for fast and thorough action.

A single suction chamber serves both valves and a deflecting fin H35directs the visceral matter toward the bottom of the chamber.

Whether or not the latch 95 picks up the pin 94 to operate the suctionvalve, depends on the position of the roller I06 journaled on the end ofthe arm iii! which extends from the sleeve .56 opposite to the clampshoe carrying arm 54. If the clamp shoe seats on a fish, it does notsink low enough to raise the roller lee sufliciently to lift the latchout of its normal engagement with the pin 96; and the valve is opened byreciprocation of the bar as. If no fish is present in the pocket, theclamp shoe drops down into the pocket far enough to raise the roller Hi6so that the latch 95 is raised out of engagement with the rocker pin,and merely rides back and forth on the roller as the bar asreciprocates, the valve remaining closed.

Means are provided for discharging the waste material from the suctionchamber without breaking the vacuum. The housing 52 enclosing thechamber M3 is extended at the bottom into a valve housing with atransversely extending passage of rectangular cross section in which apocket valve is slidab-ly disposed. The valve comprises a bar H3 snuglyfitting the passage and having a pocket 5 i4 therethrough in registerwith the bottom of the chamber M3 in the outer'position of the valve asshown in Figure 7; and in the inner position of the valve, in registerwith a discharge opening i It in the bottom of the valve housing. Thecapacity of the pocket is greater than the waste from the two fishoperated on at this station, and when the waste has dropped into thepocket, the valve is moved to discharge position where the waste fallsfrom the machine, the body of the valve meanwhile filling the slidewayThe pinion is in mesh andlsealing the .bottomof the chamber so that noleakage and loss .of vacuum occurs. The pocket valve is operated in timewith the action .of the suction valves by an. adjustable length leverarm H1 pivotally mounted at one end on bracket H8 and connected by linkH9 with the valve bar. A cam [2| on shaft 122 is arranged to actuate thelever arm, the shaft being driven by chain 123 from the shaft 34.

Means are provided for subjecting the inside wall of the visceral cavityof the fish to jets of wet steam or hot water, or both steam and waterto cook and loosen the black lining. of the cavity and blow or flush itand any other adhering matter left by the suction head out of thecavity. Pref erably the fish is first subjected to a steam jet whichcooks and loosens the lining of the visceral cavity, and blows it outtogether with adhering visc ral matter. It is then subjected to a hotWater jet which flushes out any possible remain.- ing material leavingthe interior clean and white.

Slidably mounted in bracket we, Figures 5 and 6, is a block or crosshead l2? carrying on its inner end a double manifold comprising twoaligned parts I 2.8 and l 29 for hot water and wet low pressure steamrespectively. Steam is supplied to the manifold 28 through flexibleconduit H30, and water is supplied to manifold I29 through flexibleconduit I3l, both conduits being con.- nected to suitable sources ofsupply of water and steam respectively. Since a cooking tempera.- tureis desired, especially in the steam, the preferable temperatures forsteam and water are about 210 F. and 200 F. respectively. The presuresunder which the steam and water are released are relatively low, buthigh enough to insure that the flow will carry out the loosened material without injury to the remaining body.

From each manifold project two jet pipe lSZ, each pipe terminating in ahead I33, Figure 10, which includes a backwardly directed annular flangeI34. An aperture I36 in the head in line with the pipe discharges fluid(wet steam or hot water as the case may be) directly ahead of the pipe;andradial apertures I31 in the body of the head directs the fluid uponthe inside face of the flange, so that it spreads thereon and dischargesbackwardly in a thin conical sheet which impinges .at an angle on thevisceral wall with maximum cleansing effect, as the jet pipe isintroduced into the visceral cavity. The stream of fluid from thecentral opening in the head reaches and cleans the farthest depth of thecavity, while the cone of fluid moves in a direction opposite to theentering movement of the head, so that all portions of the cavity wallare reached and movement. of waste is in the direction of the cavityopening throughwhich the head enters. Four jet pipes are arranged tooperate opposite. four pocket blocks, and since the step-by-stepmovement of the conveyor presents two fish at a time for operation eachfish is subjected to both steam and water cleaning treatments.

Means acting in time with movement of the conveyor, are provided formoving the manifoldsupporting block l2! back and forth to move the jetpipes into and out of the fish lying in the pocket blocks of theconveyor. J ournaled on the fixed shaft MI. is a sleeve M2 having an armM3 at one end and a pinion its at the other The pinion is in mesh withthe rack it which is reciprocated through a calculated movement by a camrider I dl actuated by the cam Hit fixed on the shaft 3 I.

he a M3 is c nn ct d b li k it! with th arm I52 offthe rocker I53,journaled on the shaft I4. The rocker is also provided with oppositelyextending arms I54 and I56, the arm I54 connected by the link I57 withan arm I58, on the rocker I59, journaled on the shaft I 4 I. A secondarm I6I on this rocker is connected by link I62 with the cross head I21.Similarmechanism on the opposite side of the machine is operated by thelink I63 connected to the arm I56 of the central rocker.

From this it will be understood that while I may supply steam to bothmanifolds and subject each fish to two steam treatments, a preferablearrangement for most conditions is wet steam at a pressure such that thevisceral wall is not torn. The blast of steam then cooks the lining ofthe cavity and peels it off, carrying lining and other undesirableparticles out of the cavity. On the next step forward the hot waterflushes out the cavity leaving it perfectly free from objectionablematter.

Shortly after leaving the water cleansing station, the fish are droppedby the conveyor into a fiume of salt water by which they are conveyed toa pool for brief storage. From the pool the fish are taken to thepacking table where they are placed in cans, and then processed.

This application is a continuation-impart of my copending applicationSerial No. 271,286 filed May 2, 1939, which has issued as Patent Number2,326,146, dated August 10, 1943. v

I claim:

1. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising means for feeding fish with anintermittent motion along a path, means disposed along the path forsevering the heads from the fish, vacuum means disposed along said pathfor removing the entrails from the fish, and valve means operating intime with the feeding means for controlling said vacuum means.

2. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising means for feeding fish with anintermittent motion along a path, means disposed along th path forremoving the, heads from the fish, means dis posed along the path foreviscerating the headless fish, clamp means timed with the feeding meansfor holding the fish during evisceration, means timed with the feedingmeans for operating the eviscerating means, and means controlled by theclamp means in the absence of a fish for preventing operation of theeviscerating means.

3. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising means for feeding fish witharr intermittent motion along a path, means disposed along the path forremoving the heads from the fish, a valve controlled suction headdisposed along the path for eviscerating the headless fish, clamp meanstimed with the feeding means for holding the fish during evisceration,means timed with the feeding means for operating the valve of thesuction head, and means actuated by the clamp means in the absence of afish for disconnecting the valve operating means.

4. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising means for feeding fish with anintermittent motion along a path, means disposed along the path forremoving the heads from the fish, a valve controlled suction headdisposed along the path for eviscerating the headless fish, clamp meanstimed with the feeding means for holding the fish duringevisceratiomvalve moving mechanism, a

bar moving in time with the feeding means, a

latch connecting the bar to the valve moving mechanism, and meansactuated by the clamp means in the absence of a fish for the latch.

5. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising a vacuum operated suctionhead, a valve for controlling the suction head, conveyor means having astep-by-step motion for positioning against the suction head asuccession of headless fish, clamp means acting in time with theconveyor means for holding the fish during its pause at the suctionhead, and means timed with the conveyor means for operating the suctionhead valve.

6. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising a vacuum operated suctionhead, a valve for controlling the suction head, conveyor means having astep-by-step motion for positioning against the suction head asuccession of headless fish, clamp means acting in time with theconveyor means for holding the fish during its pause at the suctionhead, means timed with the conveyor means for operating the suction headvalve, and means actuated by the clamp means in the absence of a fishfor disconnecting the valve operating means.

, 7. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising a plurality of jet pipes,means for supplying steam to at least one of the jet pipes and hot waterto at least one of the jet pipes, conveyor means having a step-by-stepmotion for positioning first adjacent the steam jet pipe and nextadjacent the hot Water jet pipe a, succession of headless andeviscerated fish, and means timed with the conveyor means for moving thejet pipes into and out of the eviscerated fish.

8. Apparatus for dressing fish comprising a disengaging 'slideway. amanifold slidably mounted in the slideway, a plurality of jet pipesprojecting from and in communication with the manifold, means forsupplying a hot fiuid to the manifold, conveyor means having astep-by-step motion for positioning adjacent the jet pipes a successionof headless and eviscerated fish, and means timed with the conveyormeans for reciprocating the manifold to move the jet pipes into and outof the eviscerated fish.

9. Apparatus for dressin fish comprising a vaccum operated suction head,a valve for controlling the suction head, conveyor means for pcsitioningagainst the suction head a succession of headless fish, and means timedwith the positioning of the fish against the suction head for operatingthe suction head valve.

, KARL KURZBIN.

REFERENCES CITED file of this patent:

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